November

Here's my monthly photo dump of all the cute pictures I've found on my phone!

She sure loves her blankie!

 

 

Very focused on tv...

 

Showing off her purple lips...doesn't everyone eat their markers?

 

 

I came home from work one morning and they were so excited to show me how they all matched!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can't even handle their cuteness! The smiles, the cuddles, the desire to do whatever we are doing...it's so fun! Sometimes I need to remind myself of that...especially when I feel like my personal space has been invaded a little too often!

We did a few fun activities this month; on Veteran's Day, I took the girls to Canada with Kim and the boys, and Grandpa and Grandma. We stopped at a park just across the border to see if we could see any salmon, and then headed to a bird sanctuary that was supposed to be pretty neat. We struck out; there weren't many salmon and the bird sanctuary was so busy that the parking lot was full and the line to get in was ridiculously long. (They were only letting people in as people left.) So, after driving around for over an hour, we ended up at a small park and played for a little while. It was pretty cold though, so we headed back to Kim's house. Thankfully the border crossing wasn't bad at all!

 

 

 

More than happy to be home building a castle!

 

 

We also went and picked out our Christmas tree on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We tried a new place, and after roaming around for awhile and finally all agreeing on a tree, we cut one down and brought it home. We set it up right away but it took us over a week to get any ornaments on it!

 

There was a super friendly dog roaming around...these two loved it!

 

That face Haleigh is making was on purpose "Mom, I wanted to make a funny face"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once again, Haleigh made this face on purpose!

 

 

 



Happy Birthday Annaliese!

Annaliese turned 7 on November 25. She has been looking forward to her birthday for several months and had her birthday party planned long ago. Her plan was to go bowling, go to Star Park, come home and play and basically spend the entire day celebrating! That seemed like a bit much, so we decided that she could pick one activity and she chose bowling. We invited the girls from her class at school and all our local family and we spent the afternoon bowling! It was such a fun and easy way to do a birthday party. As soon as we climbed into the van on the way home, Annaliese said, "Mom, that was the best day ever. I had so much fun!" 

Mallory, McKinley, Luz, Annaliese, Vida, Arianna

It has been so fun to see Annaliese develop friendships with her classmates, as well as her love for hanging out with her cousins. She is clearly very social and loved being the center of attention and having everyone celebrate her! 

Thanksgiving Break

The girls had a half day of school on Wednesday and then a four-day weekend for Thanksgiving. We filled our time with a good balance of family time, friends, partying, and relaxing. 

Our Thanksgiving meal was at Grandma and Grandpa's house, but we weren't eating until about 1:00. Kim and Thane were spending their day with the Veltkamp side of the family so they weren't going to be joining us, but they weren't heading over there until the afternoon either. Annaliese was a bit disappointed that she wasn't going to see Elias, so we decided to head to Lynden for a little while in the morning. Kyle and the girls hung out at the house with Thane and the boys and Kim and I went to Berthusen Park for a run. It was a perfect way to start the day! 

From there, we grabbed our turkey from a local meat processing place where I had dropped it off to get smoked. By far, the best way to do a Thanksgiving turkey! We headed over to Mom and Dad's house and spent the rest of the day eating food, watching a little football, and playing games. 

Annaliese needed a haircut...so we trimmed off a few inches!

Haleigh and Mallory did not need haircuts...but their hair was in their faces,
and apparently cutting it was the best way to take care of that problem! (We took this picture the next day, when we could get them to stand next together and look at the camera at the same time!)

On Friday, we had to the opportunity to drive out to Birch Bay and hang out with one of my college friends and her family. Her grandparents live in Lynden, so they drove up from New Mexico for Thanksgiving. I haven't seen Tara and JM since Kyle and I got married! It was so fun to meet their wonderful kids and spend time together! I managed to take a few pictures of the kids, but totally forgot to get one of Tara and I!

Evie and Annaliese

Samantha and Haleigh

All the girls patiently waiting for a table at lunchtime...
doesn't get much better than an awesome view with awesome friends!

The rest of our weekend was filled up with getting the Christmas tree, decorating the house, and celebrating Annaliese's birthday. We ended the weekend tired but happy...and very thankful for all we have!